It never ceases to amaze me how creative our government can be in their efforts to hinder justice, especially in a country founded on freedom, equality, and one who declares to be 'One Nation Under God'. Especially when it is regarding something that Jesus clearly teaches us to do.
   In Luke 9, Jesus is teaching a large group of people, and when it begins to get late in the day, the disciples come to them asking Him to send the people away to nearby villages and farms to find themselves something to eat, but Jesus has a different plan. He simply tells the disciples, 'you feed them'.
   It's not hard to imagine what went through their minds as He says this to them, for it is recorded in verse 13, and immediately the disciples begin to explain to Jesus that they only have a little bit of food, and besides, what did He expect them to do? Buy the food themselves?
   Luke tells us that Jesus took what the disciples had and blessed it before breaking it into pieces and feeding the people, yes, 5,000 of them, but I love the fact that Matthew records in his Gospel in 14:15-21 that Jesus told the disciples to 'give me what you have' before doing this.
   Now correct me if I'm wrong, but my Bible says nowhere that Jesus sent a couple of the disciples to run on down to the county office and pick up a health permit, it simply says that He told them, 'you feed them'.
   In fact, if we read what Jesus teaches about the sheep and the goats, we'll see that He makes it clear that by feeding the hungry and those in need, we've done it for Him, so what would stop us from obeying Him, and doing this? Our government!
   Now I'm not just trying to bash on the machine, but some friends of ours over at The Simple Way in Philly are facing this hurdle as the mayor of the city has declared that it is against the law to feed the homeless in public, or to share food, and I must agree with my friend Shane when he declares that 'this is an unjust law, and we do not feel obliged to comply.'
   We have faced similar challenges here, but we press forward and do what is right, and what Jesus says we are to do, and we don't worry much about the one who can destroy our bodies, but we do tend to try our best to be obedient to the One who can 'destroy both body and soul in hell' and we have seen Him cover us with grace time and again, and many hungry mouths be fed in the name of Jesus.
   God has blessed us with friends, brothers and sisters from YWAM Boston who have been coming here to minister with us in the community for the past three years, and last year when we assembled at the waterfront, you can imagine my surprise when I was told by the Southport Police Chaplain that 'we've got to have a permit to share the Gospel on the waterfront'.
   Again we asked God to cover us, and again, He obliged. The problem as I see it is that we, as believers, are supposed to be making disciples of all nations according to Jesus, and I am amazed that people such as this would not be willing to fight for this right, but it is a problem today in epidemic proportions, and we MUST make a stand!
   I can't imagine what would cause a Christian to place a higher value over sharing the Good News with someone who may not know, and is facing an eternity separated from God in hell, but it is time that we declare our faith, claim the boldness that we are to have, fight for justice, and pursue peace, without waver.
   Tomorrow during the town council meeting there in Philly, our friends have arranged a peaceful protest at 4pm when the meeting is happening, and at 4:30 they will be having a 'Love Feast' and sharing their meals with others, according to Jesus' words, and not just the desires of corrupt officials who lack compassion for others, and have the option to grab a bite when they are hungry.
   In a show of solidarity, I will be heading to our own waterfront park to do the same, with or without support, and I am hoping that some of our fellow followers will join me. I am sure there will be a faithful few, and I hope to have our time of Common Prayer during this time also.
   I do this as a symbol of hope. That justice will prevail, and to reflect the love of Jesus, knowing that though our friends at TSW are many miles away, but the Holy Spirit of God unifies us across the miles.
   Below I have include the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 from the Gospel of Luke for the reader. (That's you!) Love you guys, and would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
Tim
  
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. 11 But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick.  12 Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.”

 13 But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

   “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” 14 For there were about 5,000 men there.

   Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 So the people all sat down. 16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. 17 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!

   For so long now we have prayed that God would lead us to a place of worship here in our own community that goes beyond what we have seen so far, and focuses on the beauty of not just hearing the Word, but being doers of the Word as James instructs us in his book, and it is so exciting to see how God is answering that prayer by using a small group of people at a chapel that is located, literally, just around the corner from our home.
   We are not concerned about the convenience of it, but what we are truly enjoying, is the organic nature of this little group of people that call themselves Christ Coastal Community Church.
   Founded by a beautiful spirited couple, it is a place that we feel as if we can be ourselves as we follow Jesus, and a place void of the usual man-made political nuances that are dominating the church in America today, and a refreshingly welcome addition to the community.
   God has had us on a journey of learning to live in real, biblical community, where the Holy Spirit is free to move and work through us in ways that are sadly unrecognizable by many today, and by leading us to this 'organic church' He has brought us together with a group of people who are seemingly on the same journey, and we have been freed up to worship in an environment where things are shared, and people have an active participation in the gatherings instead of being talked at.
   This entry has been a means of sharing my heart about how God has assembled other 'Villagers' and also to stir the writing process as I have been away from blogging for quite some time, and I want to re-establish a pattern of writing that has been lost in recent years.
   As time goes by, I will share more, but for now, I will close with an attitude of gratitude for what God is doing. Thank You Father for Your love, and for hearing our cries for more workers in this field!

   I have been suffering from a bit of a writers block, or should I say that I really just haven't had, or taken the time to write in a blog in quite some time, and I am excited to break the ice here on our new website.
   So much has happened over the winter, or our version of it, and due to the warm weather, I have been spending much of my free time out in the area behind our home that was once covered in vines, that I cleared last winter, the real one, for a prayer garden.
   In preparation for the summer season that is quickly approaching, and the arrival of our brothers and sisters from Youth With A Mission (YWAM), I have been getting the prayer garden cleared of winter debris such as pine needles, cones, and the like, as well as getting the soil ready for planting, and I have noticed that I feel so close to God when I am on my knees in the dirt.
   I don't find that particularly surprising, especially considering the fact that I am made from dirt, and to dirt I will one day return, but as we have been studying through a series by Francis Chan at our small group Gathering on Friday nights for the past couple of months called BASIC, I have noticed that I have become more sensitive to the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit, and He seems to like our little garden, because He regularly meets with me there.
   I am reminded of the old song 'In the Garden' which is why I have titled this post as I have. It goes something like this...

I COME TO THE GARDEN ALONE, WHILE THE DEW IS STILL ON THE ROSES
AND THE VOICE I HEAR FALLING ON MY EAR
THE SON OF GOD DISCLOSES
AND HE WALKS WITH ME, AND HE TALKS WITH ME
AND HE TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN
AND THE JOY WE SHARE AS I TARRY THERE
NONE OTHER HAS EVER KNOWN

   Mind you that is only the first verse and the chorus, but I think you may get the idea. I head out to the garden alone, but He always meets me there, and it the most amazing feeling that I have ever known, and one that I look forward to each day, or at least as often as I can.
   With our Gathering study of BASIC behind us, we are now moving on to an intense, eight week discussion and journey that focuses on the Holy Spirit, and how we have forgotten Him as the One promised by Jesus to be 'better' than His own presence with us. It is also by Francis Chan, and is based on his book, 'Forgotten God-Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit'.
   I look forward to what God has in store for me, as well as the group, and I have plans to create a category here in our blog for my musings on this particular study, and I am sure that this will be the beginning of something beautifully new that God wants to do in my heart, and I anticipate nothing less than awesomeness from an awesome God.